The Twelve Kingdoms of Sol
by The Order of the White Knights
Summary: Takes place in a world very similar to those of the FF worlds. Princess Gwen lived in boredom at the palace. But when a young knight is captured, a new friendship is forged between them as war approaches. EITHER ON HIATUS OR CANCELED. NOT SURE!
1. The Meeting of Two

**Hey! This is our first Ben 10 fic and yes its' a Bwen fic. To any Gwevin fans, sorry but this isn't for you guys. We got our inspiration from several authors and hope that some of them will read this. **

The Meeting of Two

_The continent of Sol was a once a peaceful land. The Luna Republic had unified the twelve kingdoms in peace. The Aires, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces kingdoms had put aside their differences for the better of their people. During this time much advances in science were made. To avoid building weapons of war that consumed the world's resources, each nation kept to the ways of the sword, spear, and bow. They still made aerial ships, trains, and glistening cities. Communication and the way of living were greatly affected as well with the technology. This was a great age. The Age of Advancement. But with each great age, it eventually ends._

_A radical group known as the Umbra Knights sought to seize power. They sowed distrust and suspicion among the kingdoms. Then when the glorious Luna Guardians went out to repair the damage, the king of Luna was killed. The Umbra knights used this and claimed the Luna Guardians had assassinated him and his family. With the people rallying to the Umbra, they brought down the Luna Guardians and started a full scale war. This war has gone on for nearly four hundred years and continues to this day. Four alliances were made with the Umbra secretly manipulating the four camps. They control scattered areas about the continent and plan for the day they can crush the twelve kingdoms. But the prophets speak of two heroes who will save them and bring in a new age. The last descendants of the Luna Knights._

Gwen looked out over the ramparts of the palace towards the plains in front of the castle. The Gemini kingdom was nestled in a mountain valley. Where the mountains didn't meet there were walls set up to defend the passes into the kingdom. She hated the fact that the Gemini were "trapped" here. Her step-father said this protected them from the evil kingdoms. She recalled how he always said that the Libra and Aquarius kingdoms were the only real allies they had.

She went back into her room and looked in the mirror. Her auburn hair came down to her back and her green eyes shown brilliantly like emeralds. She wore a white skirt that came down to her knees and white boots. Her white blouse was outlined and adorned with gold coloring and jewels. She wore a simple tiara with a sapphire set into the middle of it. Everyone told her of how beautiful she was, but she never really felt that way.

A knock came from the doorway. "Come in." she called out. A tan skinned girl wearing a purple robe with silver symbols on it. Her jewelry and kingdom symbol shown with the aqua colors known by them. Her silver hair flowed freely behind her and her violet eyes shown with joy. "Charmcaster? To what do I owe this visit from the Aquarius ambassador?"

"Gwen, don't we know each other well enough to drop the stupid titles?" Charmcaster inquired as she crossed over to hug the princess. Gwen laughed and returned the hug. "Anyways I'm here to tell you that your step-father is back. He's almost to the palace now and I thought we should be there to greet him."

"Alright, let's go Charm." The two friends left her room and made their way to the palace entrance. Once there, they took their place among the lords, ladies, and knights of the Gemini kingdom. They had just got into place when they saw the king and his personal guard walk up the steps. Gwen saw her stepfather in his gold and blue armor of the kingdom and waited. He approached her and hugged her warmly. She returned the hug and welcomed him home.

As they pulled away, she noticed someone in the middle of the entourage of knights. It looked like a teenage boy about her age. He was flanked by two knights with his hands behind his back. He wore blue and red clothing. He had a gold neck lace with a purple symbol on it. His brown hair was a mess and with his head down she couldn't see his face. She studied the symbol on the necklace and realized it was that of the Leo kingdom.

"My lord, what is a Leo doing here?" Gwen asked.

"Glad to see you know your kingdom symbols and colors. We just made a…pact of sorts with the Leo kingdom. To ensure this pact is kept, we have taken their best knight as a hostage guest." he answered.

"Is that necessary?" Gwen asked. Last she knew, the Leos were creative, generous, warm hearted, and loving.

"Normally no, but they broke their alliance with the Aries and Sagittarius kingdom. This knight was the cause of such and he was captured before he could escape his kingdom."

Gwen looked at the Leo and saw him raise his head a little. He had emerald eyes just like her, but she could see the anger and…something else there.

"Princess, would you be so kind as to monitor this Leo? I know with your powers and those of Ambassador Charmcaster that he will not be any problem."

"Of course my lord." Gwen answered. She motioned for the two knights to bring the Leo with her and left with them and Charmcaster. They continued up to a large study in one of the towers. The knights waited outside and Gwen and Charmcaster were inside with the Leo.

"So, what did you do to earn the hatred of your own kingdom?" Gwen asked.

The Leo sat with his hands bound on the couch in the room and refused to answer. Gwen stared at him with curiosity for a moment before he answered.

"I did nothing but save my people."

"What?" Charmcaster asked.

"I know the truth! The Umbra have taken over my grandfather's kingdom and I was trying to drive them out!" he said, turning to face her with anger on his face. Gwen heard Charmcaster gasp.

Gwen pondered that. The Umbra were said to be the heroes of the old age. She couldn't see why anyone would oppose them. But Leo were faithful to their allies. They never betrayed anyone when their vow was given. She decided to put this to the test.

"If I take off your bonds, do you promise to behave and stay here in this room?"

The boy gave her a quizzical look. Then he nodded. She crossed over and untied his hands. She stood back and watched as he stretched his arms. He got up and bowed to her.

"Thank you Princess. My name is Ben."

"I'm Princess Gwen."

Ben looked to Charmcaster. "I…I'm Ambassador Charmcaster of Aquarius. You can call me Charm."

Ben bowed to her before sitting down again. Gwen saw a look of knowing on his face when he saw Charm. He lowered his head and closed his eyes. "I'm glad to see that there are kind people outside of Leo. So the rumors are false."

"Rumors?"

"Each allied camp thinks that the others are terrible people correct? Each place I've been that seems to be untrue. I later discovered that it was the Umbra who did all the evil deeds and spread the rumors."

"Impossible. The Umbra are kind people."

"HA! You haven't witnessed what I have. Nor suffered as I have." Ben said.

"Oh yeah? Your allies in the Aries kingdom killed my parents. They even kidnapped my brother." Gwen shot back.

Ben closed his mouth at that. He looked away. "I'm sorry. Leo have many enemies. The Taurus, Pisces, Scorpio, Capricorn, and even your allies the Libra and Aquarius kingdoms have sought the destruction of the Leo for centuries. No one else has half of the kingdoms in Sol out to kill them. The only ones that can even come close to understanding that are the Cancer. So I'm sorry about that."

"How do you know this?" Charm asked.

"Before enlisting in the Leo army, I traveled the world with my parents to each kingdom, hiding who I was and spending a year in each kingdom since I was three before returning to Leo. By the way, you're right. Only the Aries seek Gemini's destruction. The Leo seek yours since you attack us."

"Why were you and your parents traveling to the other eleven kingdoms?" Gwen inquired.

"My parents said I needed to have a better understanding of the world and the other kingdoms. We met several people during our stays in each kingdom. Some we even trusted them to know of our status as a Leo. They kept the secret. Some were philosophers, warriors, or scholars so my parents had me learn all I could from them. It was the best years of my life! Except…for the eighth year."

Gwen noticed the sadness in his eyes. "What happened?"

"The Umbra happened. We had run into them before, but they never bothered us. Until we went to the Cancer kingdom. They had laid siege to the palace and getting in was hard. After seven years of training not only under every kingdom we had visited, but under my dad as well, I finally joined my father in my first battle. We rallied the Cancer soldiers to fight the invaders and drove them back day after day after day. I became a sort of figure for them to rally on because of my fighting styles from the other kingdoms. The Umbra discovered this and tried to kidnap me. My father died protecting me.'

"My mother had sent word for a group of Leos in a town nearby to come get me. They came a few days later. The Cancer soldiers had never seen Leo soldiers before and were in awe of them. They got me out, but my mother stayed to distract the Umbra. I…saw her killed as we rode out of sight. Instead of running straight back to Leo, I convinced the soldiers to let me finish going to the last three kingdoms. Then we returned to Leo and I spent the next two years serving in the army."

Gwen and Charm looked at each other. No one had ever traveled to each of the twelve kingdoms, lived there for a year in each, and live to tell the tale. Not to mention losing your parents along the way. Gwen realized he must feel so much rage at the Umbra. But it still didn't make sense to her. The Umbra were supposed to be the protectors of the peace. Trying to find a way to mediate the different sides in this eternal war.

Gwen looked back to Ben to see him deep in thought. He looked up to her and asked, "Who was your brother and how long ago was he kidnapped?"

Surprised by this, Gwen answered, "Two years ago, my older brother Ken was kidnapped during an Aries raid on the farmlands."

"Old Ken! I know him! He's one of the Aries' hostage guests like I am to you guys!"

Gwen's face lit up at this. Her brother was still alive! "Where? Is he ok? How do you…"

"Easy Princess! You forget that the Umbra have control of Aries now. The Leo may have been allies with them, but we broke the alliance remember?"

Gwen looked down in defeat. She thought about it for awhile then decided to leave. "Good day Ben." Charm exited before she did and motioned for her to say something more before leaving out of sight. "Ben, if you could, would you go and rescue my brother?"

For a moment, there was silence. "Yes, my lady." Then she heard a shattering sound. She turned to see a broken window. She ran over to it with the two guards right behind her. Ben was nowhere to be seen.

"That sly Leo! Alert the king!" a guard said. Gwen continued staring down before she saw something in the sky off in the distance. A flock of birds had gathered and were flying off to the northwest. To the Aries kingdom. As they flew, she noticed one seemed different than the others.

She went to her room and sat there. A guard informed her that in the morning the king would lead a legion to attack the Leo for their treachery. She fell asleep with huge fits and dreamt of the strange shaped bird in the distance.

**The next day**

Gwen woke to the sounds of horns calling out. She waited a second before recognizing the horn calls. She got up and ran as fast as she could. As she left the palace, knights and soldiers were running for the walls of the city. She reached the part of the wall where the Royals could observe if they chose to. She found her step father and Charm there.

"What's happened?" Gwen asked.

"Archers! Loose!" her step father cried out.

Gwen looked out to see a fight raging. Gemini soldiers were fighting…Aries knights! She also saw a third group of people out there. The arrows from the archers reached the battle and hit many of the Aries troops. The Gemini soldiers and the mystery group rushed for the gates. Gwen ran back down with Charm to meet them. They reached the gate just as the troops were rushing in. She scanned the group and saw Ben. She ran over to him and saw that he had a wound in his side.

"Ben! What did you do?!" Gwen asked.

"I kept a Leo promise." he answered. He grabbed the shoulder of the man beside him and turned him around. Gwen inhaled sharply.

"Ken?" she asked.

"Gwen?" Ken returned.

The brother and sister hugged each other tightly. Tears streamed down their faces as they embraced each other. Gwen pulled back with her hands still on his arms. "Ken! I…I can't believe it! I almost lost hope!"

"It's alright Gwen. The Aries military may be brutes, but the people were very kind to me. I was lucky my friend Ben came when he did though. The Umbra were talking of sending me north." Ken answered.

"Prince Ken!"

Her step father walked up to them and wrapped his arms around Ken in a bear hug. Ken was the king's actual son. While they exchanged their heartfelt reunions, Gwen looked back to Ben. He was sitting on the ground with a mystery soldier tending to his wound. She realized that the soldier was a Leo knight. The entire mystery group was.

"Ben? Why'd you rescue him?"

Ben waved the other Leo away before answering. "You asked me to Princess. I knew where he was, how I could get to him, and plus he was my friend. I couldn't lie and say I couldn't get him for you. So I said I could and I did."

"But why did you do it right then and without telling me?"

"Gwen, don't you know what happens to a Leo when they make a promise?" her step father asked. She shook her head. "Their God, the Great Lion of the Sky, made them so faithful that if they can't keep a promise they make to someone, they go through such pain until they fulfill it or die. The closer the person or the more important that person is to them the more pain it is. An empty promise to an enemy does nothing to them however so they can't be forced into swearing an oath or promise to an outsider."

Gwen looked to Ben and saw that her step father spoke the truth. Ben was avoiding her face now. A Gemini royal guard unit stepped forward and picked him up. They bound his hands together.

"What're you doing?!" Ken yelled. The Leo knights stood up and knocked the guards away from Ben. They had their weapons pointed outward.

"By order of King Samson, the Leo is to be sent to the dungeon for attempted escape." the guards answered.

"We rescued your Prince! How dare you accuse…"

"Knights of Leo! Return to your previous assignments or homes! Those who do not will hear from King Max of the Leo Kingdom!" Ben ordered. The knights looked at him in shock. Then they sheathed their weapons and marched to the gate. With surprise on their faces, the gate guards opened the gate and let the Leos out. The Leos broke out into a run so fast that no one could see them after a few minutes.

"Princess Gwen?" Samson asked. Gwen watched as Ben was led away before turning to face him. "You will still be in charge of the Leo, understand?"

"Yes my lord, but why is he being punished?"

"He may have brought my son back to me, but he did so with my consent or informing me of his plans. I am in his debt for this, but he must learn that while he remains here he is under my authority."

Gwen bowed before heading back to the palace. She made her way down to the dungeon and found Ben. He was sitting on the floor in a cell with some furnishings inside as well as a bookcase and table. She approached the cell. When he saw who it was, he stood up and went to the cell bars.

"Even though it got you in trouble, thank you for what you did."

"Glad I could do something for you Princess." he replied with a smirk on his face.

"Would you like some company down here?"

"I don't think another prisoner would be a good idea."

"I meant me. O-o-or Charm or someone else." Gwen said, turning her head so he wouldn't see her blush. _Why am I blushing?_

"Oh, well yeah it'd be nice to have a friend down here to speak with." Ben answered. Gwen smiled and sat down on a chair near the cell. They talked of their homes and friends, of their likes and dislikes, and even their interests. This would mark the beginning of a great friendship. Or something more?

**So what did you guys think? Reviews Please! **


	2. Truth and Oaths

**Hey! We couldn't wait and decided to go ahead and post the next chapter. Hope you guys enjoy! **

Truth and Oaths

_Two months have passed since Ben the Leo came to the Gemini kingdom.__Two months since he became a hostage guest. Two months since his friendship with Gwen the Gemini began. After the first month, Ben was allowed out of the cell and into a guest room with bars on the window and a lock on the outside of the door. After two weeks of this, he was allowed to roam the city under the eyes of Princess Gwen and her personal guard. Many Gemini citizens would flock to him whenever he toured the city, interested in seeing a Leo for the first time. Soon Ben was starting to gain the trust of the kingdom._

Ben awoke early in the morning to the sunlight entering his room. He stretched and went to the basin along the wall. As he washed his face to wake up, he saw the security strip running around the room. They had installed it to keep an eye on him, but he still found it a little annoying. He pulled on his shirt just as a knock came on the door. From the rhythm of the knock, he grinned knowing who it was.

"Yes?"

"I brought you some breakfast. Are you decent?" the familiar voice asked.

"Yes, my lady."

Gwen opened the door and brought in two trays of food. Ken and Charm followed her in and closed the door. They sat down around the room as they enjoyed a light breakfast.

"So, what're we going to do today?" Ben inquired as he tore into his eggs.

"I was thinking that you might like to see if you could find the friends you made here when you were on your travels." Gwen answered.

Ben beamed at her when she said that. "That would be awesome! I haven't seen Danny and Christie in over four years!"

"So Gemini was the tenth kingdom you visited?" Ken asked.

"Yes!"

"Interesting. You were here during the announcement of Princess Gwen's arranged marriage then?"

Ben, who had been drinking some milk, nearly choked on his drink and spewed it out in front of him. Luckily, no one had been in the line of fire. Ken and Charm laughed as Gwen blushed and handed Ben a cloth to clean up. "What do you mean marriage?"

"Gwen is betrothed to the son of a famous knight of the Umbra…" Ken stopped talking when he realized what he just said. Everyone saw the fury in his eyes at the mention of the Umbra knights. They waited for him to start trying to persuade Gwen not to do it with some rant on how the Umbra were evil.

Then to their surprise, he acted as if he hadn't heard what was just said. "Well, shall we go find my old friends?" he said, standing up and walking to the door. The three of them looked at each other before walking after him.

They left the palace together without a guard unit. If Gwen, Charm, and Ken were together with Ben, they weren't required to have a guard so Gwen gave them the day off. They walked through the town to the eastern district and stopped before a moderate house.

"Wait a second! I know this house!" Gwen stated.

"Princess!?" a voice cried out.

They looked to the door to see two figures rush up to them. Both wore simple white clothing, but one was a girl and the other a boy. They had brown hair and blue eyes. The boy had his hair in a spiked sort of style and the girl had her hair in a ponytail.

"Ben! You didn't say that your friends were apart of my Royal Guard!" Gwen said. The twins smiled at each other.

"I didn't know!"

"Ben? Ben the Leo?" Christie asked. Ben nodded and was tackled by the twins in a hug. Everyone was laughing at the encounter. Only Gwen seemed to notice Ben whisper something to the twins. They nodded and jumped off him. Danny pulled Ken after him and started to play a game with him. Everyone sat there watching for awhile before Gwen realized that Ben and Christie were gone. She motioned for Charm to follow her around the house to the backyard. They stopped along the wall as they heard voices.

"What're you doing here Ben!?"

"I'm the Leo guest hostage to ensure peace between our two kingdoms."

"You understand what will happen if they find out whom you really are? Or worse, what you are?"

"The Twelve Knights of Sol were never completed. I never found the Gemini or Taurus Knights. Since I never found them, I left along with everyone else. Since we never were heard of, it doesn't matter if they discover who I am. As for what I am, I never had a choice there did I?"

"But sir…"

"Enough. I don't want to talk about that. I came here to visit some old friends."

"Friends that would answer the call of their lord."

"Enough!" Ben said/yelled. "Sorry, but that really is enough. I doubt if I send out the call for the Knights of Sol and their forces to rally again that any would come. Who would after I left them?"

SMACK! Gwen and Charm peeked around the corner and saw that Christie had slapped Ben across the face. Ben didn't react until Christie began speaking again. "You didn't abandon us! The Umbra discovered where you were and tried to capture you again. We fought them to make sure you escaped. Don't ever say you abandoned us! Or else I'll find your worse fear…"

Ben laughed at her and apologized. "Alright. Don't go get the Scorpio Knight. He'll kill me for saying this stuff. Anyways, how have you been?"

As they began to catch up on things, Gwen turned to Charm. "Charm, I saw the way you reacted when we first met Ben. Do you know him from before and do you know what he's talking about?"

Charm shifted her eyes and tried to pretend not to know what she was talking about, but failed when Gwen continued to stare her down. "Alright, but don't tell Ben I told you.'

"Yes I know him from three years ago. He visited our kingdom last on his journey and my family was the one he made friends with. He took me aside one day and asked if I ever felt that something wasn't right about the war. When I told him yes, he spoke of some type of alliance he was creating, but I never did figure out what he was saying. He had to leave two months before he originally intended for some reason. I never found out anything else."

"Do you know what he means by 'what I am'?"

"No. I noticed he carried a secret with him and at times he acted strangely, but he never told me anything."

Gwen looked back at Ben and Christie just as they finished catching up. "So Ben, what's on your mind? You really seem mad about something other than the whole Knights of Sol thing."

"I just learned of Gwen's arranged marriage."

"Oh yeah…she's almost at the appointed age too. Ben, the people here aren't bad. We just don't like to think the Umbra are really evil."

"Glad to know by your tone you disagree. Wait, Gwen's almost at the appointed age?"

"Yeah, her birthday's in a few days. The Umbra should arrive any day to conduct the wedding."

Ben's face went from one of anger to one of disappointment. Gwen wondered why he was so sad. Granted she didn't want to marry some random guy she hadn't even met, but she had never said it to anyone except Charm. Then Ben showed fear on his face.

"The Umbra…are coming? This is so not good. Not good at all!"

"Right you can't be found by them or they'll try and capture you for, what, the tenth time now?"

"No I mean this is even worse! You heard of me rescuing Ken right?"

"Yeah. By the way how'd you get back to Leo, straight to Aries, and return to Gemini in under one day?"

"I didn't. Even with my powers, I can't run that fast! Listen if you were to go to Leo right now, the kingdom would be almost empty. Only those who decided to join the Umbra stayed behind."

"Wait! So you're telling me that the entire kingdom of Leo, who all happen to be warriors trained from birth, are nearby here in the Gemini kingdom?!?!"

Gwen and Charm looked at each other in surprise, then back at Ben. He brought his hands up to his head and cradled it. "Yes! The Leo Army thought they should be nearby in case I needed help or if the Gemini needed help right away! If they see the Umbra forces…"

"They'll attack! Ben you have to go and tell them not to!"

"I'm forbidden to leave the palace city, even if it was with Gwen and the others! Even if I could, how would I explain this? Oh hey my kingdom's army is just a few miles from here and will attack your friends if they see them. They'll think I was planning on invading them!"

Gwen saw how frustrated Ben was and felt sorry for him. "Ben!" she cried out.

Ben and Christie both froze as Gwen and Charm walked out from behind the wall. "Princess! Ambassador! How much did you…?"

"We heard it all. Ben, if what you say is true, will your people attack?"

Ben nodded solemnly, looking down in shame. Gwen crossed over and lifted his chin so her eyes met his. She noticed Ben gulped when she did that. Ignoring it for the moment, she continued, "Then we need to warn them don't we?"

Ben's eyes shone with joy. "You mean…you're not mad at me?" Gwen shook her head. "Thank you Princess! I promise no more secrets from you!"

Gwen turned to Christie. "Can you keep my brother busy while we're gone?"

"Yes, my lady." Christie answered, a smile upon her face. She left the three of them in the backyard.

"We?" Ben asked.

"Yes. I think you owe me that much from keeping this secret. So how are we getting to your people?"

Ben looked nervous again. He gazed back down and said, "Well…promise me you won't freak out."

Gwen looked to Charm with confusion. Charm raised her hands and shook her head in confusion as well. Gwen returned to looking at Ben. "Alright Ben, I promise. Now, how are we getting to them?"

Ben stood up and walked away from them. He spoke in a language she didn't understand at first. Then she recognized it as the old language. The language of the Luna Knights.

"Per mos of ancient filiolus, ego dico super vox of velox. XLR8!" Ben recited.

A flash of green light blinded Gwen. She shielded her eyes as the glow intensified. Then it vanished. She looked back at Ben to realize Ben had changed. In place of Ben the Leo was a creature in a black outfit. A tail was swinging behind it and it had claws. A mask retracted from the face to show blue skin and yellow eyes.

"Is that you Ben?" Gwen asked. She was in awe of the creature in front of her.

"Yessss. This is my ability. At my command, I can call upon the spirits of the heroes of the Luna Knights. So far, I can turn into thirty-six different creatures, each with their own abilities. This one I call Xlr8. He can run, jump, and move faster than the blink of an eye over vast distance."

"Ben, this is awesome!" Gwen said walking up to him and admiring the creature.

Ben smiled at that. Charm made an ahem sound and caught their attention. "Excuse the little love fest going on here but don't we need to get going?"

Ben and Gwen blushed at her words and looked away from each other's eyes. "Right!" Ben said. He grabbed both of them and sped off towards the wall of the city. He ran up and over it with no effort. He sped them towards the forest within the mountain valley. As they sped deeper into the forest, Gwen couldn't help but feel safe in Ben's arm. She felt her heart racing as she felt his muscles moving. She felt her face blush warmly when she realized Ben was carrying her with one arm. After just a few minutes, they came to a stop in the middle of an abandoned campsite. Ben put them both down and walked forward.

"Gwen, you're blushing really badly. Do you have a crush on Ben?" Charm whispered to her. Gwen blushed even harder and didn't answer. "Uh huh, I thought so."

"Girls? Come over here." Ben called to them. He had turned back to his human self and pulled out a small horn from the pile of gear next to the campfire. He blew into it and a low but strong sound echoed in the trees. The next thing she knew, several Leo Knights walked out from around them. One had grey hair and a crown on his head.

"Ben?" the man asked. Ben went up to him and hugged him.

"It's good to see you Grandpa." Ben said.

Gwen smiled at the reunion between the two. Then they broke apart and Ben's grandfather looked at them. He walked over and asked, "And who're these young ladies Ben?"

"Oh sorry. This is Ambassador Charm of Aquarius and Princess Gwen of Gemini." Ben said. "Gwen, Charm, this is my grandfather Max, King of the Leos.

Max bowed to each of them and said hello. He turned back to Ben and asked, "Now, what do you need this time? I heard you got locked up after your last adventure."

"Grandpa, there's an Umbra force coming here soon. They'll be under the protection of the Gemini. If you attack, then the Gemini will be caught up in the fight too."

Max looked past him to Gwen. He smiled and whispered something to Ben. Ben blushed and averted his eyes as his grandfather laughed. "Alright Ben. Thanks for the warning. I'll tell the knights to stand down and stay hidden. But Ben, if you need help during this thing for any reason, and I mean _any_, use this to call us." Max handed him something in a package and Ben nodded.

After saying goodbye Max, Ben transformed again and sped them back to Danny and Christie's house. They got there just before Christie walked into the backyard.

"Hey Ken! I found them back here!" she cried out while motioning for Ben to change back. He did so just as Ken rounded the corner.

"Hey guys, a messenger just came. He says that dad wants to tell us something."

"Ok, let's go." Gwen said.

The group said goodbye to Danny and Christie and went back to the palace. They entered the throne room and bowed before Samson. Ben knelt on the ground with his head low while the rest stood before the throne.

"Princess Gwen, your fiancé is arriving tomorrow. You'll need to prepare for the wedding soon."

Gwen shifted her gaze to Ben for a moment before answering, "Yes my lord. Sire, Ben has told me it is not wise for him to be seen as he is around the Umbra."

Samson looked to Ben. "Is that so?"

"Yes my lord. I have…had some bad run ins with the Umbra knights that have earned me their persecution. If they discover me here as Ben the Leo, they'll be very angry."

Samson thought about what he was told. Then he stood up from the throne and walked down to Ben. "I could turn you over to them." Ben's face (which only Gwen could see from her angle) turned to one of horror. "But if I do that, then the Leos will invade in revenge." Ben sighed in relief.

Samson strode over to Gwen and asked, "Princess Gwen, has this Leo been behaving over the last few weeks?"

"Yes sire."

"Then you will have him become a part of your guard." Gwen looked at him in shock as everyone in the throne room did the same. "Your guards wear helms that hide their faces unlike those of my guard. Therefore he will be hidden in plain sight. Now, have him swear the oath of service to you."

Gwen went to stand in front of Ben. She recalled what a Leo promise did to them and knew that if Ben swore the oath, he would be bound by it forever. "Knight, do you swear to defend me? To uphold the honor of my family and defend the kingdom of Gemini in our hours of need? And keep me from all dangers?"

Ben looked up and stared into her eyes. Gwen was afraid he wouldn't say it because of the Leo curse. But to her astonishment he answered, "My lady, I swear to do all of these things and follow your command until you release me from this oath or I die in your service."

Even Samson was astounded by this. The entire throne room was quiet. Then Gwen continued, "Then rise, Knight, as a Gemini Royal Guard."

Ben rose and stood at attention. Samson walked over and patted Ben on his shoulder. "Wonderful! We now have a Leo as a soldier of Gemini! Take him to get his armor."

Gwen led Ben out of the throne room with Charm and Ken following. As soon as they were out of earshot, Gwen stopped and turned to Ben. "What're you doing?! You just swore an oath of service to me…why're you smiling?"

"Your king is only half right when he told you about a Leo promise. We aren't cursed to be as loyal as he says. That's just a rumor we started a long time ago to prevent people from learning the true way of making us subjugated." Ben said before laughing. "A promise made on the spot does nothing to us."

Gwen couldn't help but smile as she thumped Ben on the chest. "You dummy, making me worry like that!"

They continued down to the royal armory laughing with Charm and Ken in tow. They entered the room and waited for the armory keeper to get Ben some fitting armor. While they waited, Ken was looking at the various weapons, Charm was looking at some magical artifacts, and Gwen was waiting with Ben for the armor. When it arrived, she began helping Ben put it on.

"So Ben, what's the true way of making a Leo promise?" Gwen asked as she tightened the straps for his armor underneath his right arm.

Ben stopped fidgeting with the greaves on his forearms to look at her. "That's a Leo secret, but since you've been so kind to me I'll tell you."

Gwen picked up his shoulder armor and strapped it on for him. Ben waited for her to finish before continuing. "A Leo promise can only be made by the blood oath."

Gwen drew in a breath and heard Ken and Charm do the same. "Ben, that's a little dangerous isn't it?"

"Not really. All we do is make a small cut in our palm, drawing blood out in doing so. If the person we make the oath to accepts the oath, they place their hand on the wound. The magic that runs through our veins for this promise will absorb a little energy from the person and heal the wound instantly. Then the promise is made and binds the Leo to that promise."

Gwen looked in wonder at Ben's hands. Then Ben grabbed her hand and pulled it to his chest. Gwen blushed as he did so. "Would you like me to make the oath?"

Gwen blushed even more and averted his gaze. "B-b-ben, you don't…don't have…" Then Ben removed his hand and made a small cut in his right hand. He held it out to Gwen.

"Gwen, my oath to you is to defend you from all evil forces that wish you harm. To defend your honor and your purity. Do you accept this?" Ben said. His voice seemed to become other worldly as he said it.

Gwen was unsure of it. She looked to Ken who had a grin on his face. _He's no help._ She looked to Charm instead. She was smiling sweetly at her and made a wink at her. Gwen finally looked to Ben again and saw something in his eyes. _I wonder what that is. He seems so…strong and sure about this._ Gwen placed her hand on his and felt the blood running. "I accept your oath, Ben the Leo."

A gold light shown from their hands. Gwen felt a warm presence there and when it disappeared, Ben's wound was gone and in its place was a gold mark. It looked like a diamond. Ben then retracted his hand and put on the gauntlets. He reached for the helm and put it on. "So, how do I look?"

Gwen just stared at him, curious as to why he didn't react to the oath he just did. Then she smiled and answered, "Just great Ben." The armor was yellow and light blue, the colors of the kingdom. It seemed a little strange on Ben, since he had always been wearing the royal blue and red clothing of his kingdom.

Ben laughed and removed the helm. He tucked it underneath one arm and followed Ken out the door. Gwen was about to go when Charm grabbed her shoulder. "Gwen, you realize what just happened?" Gwen nodded. "Why'd he do that?"

"I don't know. I'll have to ask him later." With that they left the armory and focused on preparing for the arrival of the Umbra tomorrow.

**Two Days Later**

Gwen sighed as she looked into the mirror. She was wearing a bridal gown the Umbra had brought with them. She recalled the events of the day before. The Umbra had arrived at noon with a huge army. At the head of the procession was one of the five high princes. Gwen's fiancé.

_They had left the majority of the army outside the city walls. A small legion had marched in and taken up positions in the palace. The black armor was seen almost everywhere. Gwen noticed how Ben stuck close to her everywhere she went and how he tensed whenever an Umbra soldier would get close._

_Then she had met with her fiancé later that afternoon. Ben and two of her other guards were with her when he entered her room. He tried to dismiss them, but they didn't move a muscle. Scowling, he ignored them and went over to Gwen. _

"_My fair Princess, you should have these ruffians leave us be for a moment?" he had asked._

_Gwen hadn't wanted to be alone with him, but she saw Ben make a small movement with his head. She had sent the other two out, but had Ben remain just in case. "Sorry, Prince. But I'm required to have at least one guard with me at all times."_

"_Fair enough. Listen, after our wedding tomorrow I'll be the legitimate heir to the throne. You should know that the Umbra army will be stationed here as we wage war on the Leos."_

_Ben moved a little uncomfortably. Gwen recalled him clenching his fists at that. "But the Leos are our allies now. We couldn't make war on them." Gwen had informed him._

"_Your step father is very cunning. He gets the Leos to lower their guard by creating this empty alliance. With the combined might of the Gemini and Umbra, we shall crush the remaining Leo knights!"_

_Ben had struggled to remain in control. Gwen shouted at the prince saying he would never use her people for a war that didn't need to happen. Then the prince slapped her. In the second that followed that, Ben had stridden over and punched the prince sending him clear across the room._

"_How dare you harm the Princess!" Ben had cried out. He had stood in front of Gwen, shielding her from the prince._

_The Umbra had stood up and rubbed his cheek where Ben hit him. "…I suppose that was uncalled for Princess. But I will be the new king! Remember that!" He left after that._

_Gwen had cried tears when she realized that Ben had been right about how dishonorable the Umbra were. Ben had seen this and strode over to pull her into a hug and stroke her hair trying to soothe her._

"_Ben? If you could stop this wedding, would you?" Gwen had asked._

"_Yes my lady. I'd do anything for you." Ben had answered. Then he had disappeared for the rest of the day and wasn't seen again until late at night._

A knock came at the door, drawing her back to the present. She said for the person to come in. Christie walked in. She was wearing the Princess Royal Guard armor since she was the third lieutenant of her guard. She closed the door and walked towards Gwen, handing her a message crystal.

"Ben asked me to give this to you." Christie said. She waited for Gwen to put it in the message reader on her night stand. A 3d Ben appeared over the reader.

"Gwen, if you're listening to this, then Christie delivered the crystal. You remember how I seemed to have vanished for awhile yesterday? Well, I'm keeping my promise to you and stopping this wedding. Be ready for it to happen. I had to get a hold of some old friends and allies for this whole thing and get some people moving. I promise that everyone who will be helping us has been ordered to not kill any Gemini, only to disarm them. Gwen…I…I…I'll be there to rescue you! Don't worry!"

The message ended after that. Gwen smiled to herself and turned to Christie. "Are you apart of his plan?"

"Only one of many and I only know the part that takes place within the city. He ran around in that Xlr8 form the whole time he was gone. He returned with some task force wearing white and black armor. They each had an unknown symbol on their shoulders, but on their chest plates they had symbols from all over Sol. Piscean, Virgo, Sagittarian, Scorpio, Leo, and everywhere else except Gemini, Libra, or Taurus."

Gwen pondered that. _Knights from almost all the kingdoms! I didn't know Ben was this connected! _"Thank you Christie. Is Ben around?"

"Afraid not. He's getting everyone in place. Gwen, are you ready for this? You might not return to Gemini for awhile after this."

"If it means denying the Umbra of my kingdom, then so be it. Besides it would be nice to see the outside world with Ben." Gwen answered with a soft smile on her lips.

Christie smiled and escorted Gwen down to the throne room, putting her helm on as she did. They reached the decorated throne room where lords, ladies, and high ranking knights from both Gemini and the Umbra forces waited for them. Along the walkway leading to the throne were two rows of knights. On the left were the Princess Royal Guard and on the right were the 4th Umbra Prince's Royal Guard. Christie went to stand in her place between her brother and the second lieutenant. The umbra Prince escorted her down the aisle. When they reached the throne, a holy man began the ceremony.

Gwen wasn't listening as she kept glancing around for Ben. As the holy man reached the vows, she was forced to look at the Umbra Prince. "Do you, Prince Vikor, Fourth Prince of the Umbra Knights, take Princess Gwen to be your wife?"

"I do." Vikor answered, casting a wicked grin and Gwen.

"And do you, Princess Gwen, Princess of the Gemini and last remaining heir to the throne, take Prince Vikor to be your husband?"

Gwen struggled to say something. She kept looking around for Ben, but couldn't see him. She feared he had abandoned her. She breathed a sigh. "I…I…d…"

CRASH!

Glass came crashing down into the throne room from all sides. Knights in white and black armor appeared landing down from the windows. Each was carrying a sword, spear, bow, or some type of metal rod. They had symbols on their chest from all over the kingdoms of Sol.

"What is the meaning of this?" an Umbra lord called out. The Princess' Royal Guard drew their weapons and struck the Umbra Royal Guard. "What's going on?!"

Gwen ran down the throne steps, sending a burst of magic energy at the Prince and tossing him back. Guards tried to catch her, but then a second sound of glass burst from above. Three knights dropped in from above and landed around her. One had the Sagittarian symbol on her armor. She had black hair and tan skin. Her eyes shown with fury as she aimed her bow towards the altar. The one to her right had a helmet on, but had silver hair flowing out of it. Gwen realized who it was when she saw the Aquarian symbol on her armor. Then she turned to see Ben standing in front of her wearing the white and black armor. She saw a symbol on his back. It was a black circle with a green hourglass. Surrounding the circle was a thin line of silver. Around the circle were twelve stars, each a different color.

"You?!" Vikor yelled.

"Hello Vikor. Nice to see you again. Sorry to crash the party, but I think it's' time you realize you don't always get what you want." Ben said while drawing a sword. "You dare try to touch her and I'll remove your arm."

Vikor smiled evilly, laughing as he did so. "Oh, but this is much better. I get a beautiful wife and I can deliver you to my father. Umbra Knights! Attack!"

**Will Ben be able to rescue Gwen? Just who're these Knights? Reviews! By the way, for those who support this story we are going to ask for a little help. We need six heroes for our story to fight alongside Ben and the others. If you have an idea for a Pisces, Capricorn, Aries, Cancer, Virgo, or Scorpio Knight, leave us a review with the info for them. We need two girls and four guys. Looking forward to your reviews!**


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